In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) draws a clear line. An independent adviser must consider all relevant products across the whole market and give advice that is unbiased and unrestricted. A restricted adviser can only recommend from a limited range, whether that's a single company, a panel of providers or certain product types. Firms must tell you which they are before they advise you.

But "true" independence goes further than a label. A firm can meet the formal definition and still have its own investment solutions it prefers, or ownership ties that create subtle pressure. Truly independent advice means no in-house products to sell, no provider ownership, and pay that doesn't depend on which product you choose.

Conflicts of interest are reduced. When an adviser has no product of their own to place, the only reason to recommend something is that it suits you. That simple fact removes a whole layer of doubt from the relationship.

You get the full menu. The right pension, platform or investment for you may not come from the provider your adviser happens to work with. An independent adviser can search widely, compare costs and features, and switch providers if something better comes along.

Costs are clearer, and usually lower. Charges compound just like returns. An extra 1% a year in product, fund and adviser fees can cut a portfolio's value by around a fifth over 20 to 25 years. Independent advisers working on a transparent fee basis make it much easier to see exactly what you're paying and why.

It matters even more overseas. Expats are often targeted by firms that are not regulated where the client lives and sell high-commission products, such as offshore insurance bonds with long lock-ins and heavy early exit penalties. Many UK expats only discover the true cost when they try to move their money. Choosing a properly regulated, independent adviser is one of the best protections against this.

Advice can evolve with you. Life changes: you move country, sell a business, inherit or retire. An adviser free from product ties can change course with you, rather than trying to make your circumstances fit the products they have available.

A growing share of financial advice firms, both in the UK and offshore, is now owned by private equity houses, asset managers and banks. These are institutions with big targets to hit. Their focus is relentless growth: buying other firms, winning new clients, gathering more assets, and steering existing clients into their own in-house funds and products.

In my experience, those in-house solutions are often more expensive and tend to underperform. Owners favour this approach because it is more profitable, and easier to measure, than the slower work of looking after clients properly, keeping them for the long term and growing naturally through recommendation.

There is a counter-argument. Large groups have the deepest pockets, which can pay for better platforms, technology and service. At the other end of the scale, a sole trader may not have the infrastructure or support network to cope with demand, or with clients' ever-changing circumstances.

After 16 years in financial advice, I sit somewhere in between. In a market reshaped by takeovers, mergers and acquisitions, I believe the real winners will be well-run small and medium-sized firms: those that can offer continuity of service, a personal relationship, and the right level of support behind it.

We believe independence isn't just a regulatory label but a way of working. We have no products of our own to sell and no provider to answer to, only our clients. If you'd like a second opinion on your current arrangements, or simply want to understand what you're paying for, get in touch.

This article is for information only and does not constitute financial advice.